Page 70 of Silent Deception
Rubbing at his forehead where a headache was starting to pulse, Clint exhaled slowly. He hadn’t wanted to face the possibility that Garrett could have had a part in all that had gone wrong. And now, he felt the same about Ryan. Surely he’d raised his sons to be better men than that. Or had he?
Long after Leland hung up, he stared out the window going back over his life. He’d built the largest ranch in the county. Built it fromnothing.He’d become a major force in the State Senate during his long political career.
Yet he’d failed at what should matter most to a man—his marriage and the children who should have been his most enduring legacy.
But his marriage was over and his boys were grown, and now it was too late to change a thing.
* * * *
AFTER A FEW HOURS OFwork in his office—which amounted to frustration rather than progress—Clint paced through the house, wishing Charlotte was around to talk to.
She dropped in now and then, breezy as ever, as if nothing was wrong, though she usually stayed at Trevor’s place. Her car had been by the barns earlier, and he’d thought about going down to see her, but then the phone had rung and he’d ended up on a long conference call.
That call had brought into sharp focus one of the many things he admired most about Charlotte. She’d always been direct as any man at cutting to the heart of an issue, and unlike those in his professional life, she never hesitated to say exactly what was on her mind. She was, he recalled with grudging admiration, the one person who didn’t give a nickel for what he thought.
He could have used her opinion, after his encounter with Ryan this morning. When had everything gone so terribly wrong in this family? When had Ryan become his enemy instead of his son?
At a light rap on the front door he turned, and his heart lifted when he saw her walking in.
She strolled toward him, with the leggy, nonchalant grace he’d once loved. “What a surprise. You aren’t at your desk making monumental decisions about...something?”
And she still had her talent for veiled sarcasm as well, obviously. “Good to see you, Charlotte.”
She gave a throaty laugh. “My, I guess it pays to be terminal.”
A sour feeling settled in his stomach. “I’d rather you didn’t joke about something that holds so little humor.”
“Then for you, I will be exceedingly grim.” She moved to the other end of the foyer and scanned the formal living room beyond as if memorizing each detail. “I’ve always loved that room. The afternoon light hits it exactly right. But,” she added with a regretful sigh, “that isn’t why I came up to see you.”
She touched a button on the wall and Adelfa appeared a moment later, beaming at the sight of Charlotte.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Could you bring us coffee, please? The library would be fine.”
After Adelfa soundlessly disappeared down the hall, Charlotte caught the crook of Clint’s arm and sauntered to the library, where she let him go to prop her hip against the dark cherry desk. “Ryan tells me he’s leaving.”
“That’s his choice.” The angry words erupted before he even took time to think.
“Still fighting the same old battles...and the biggest loser will be you. Aren’t you ever going to give up?”
Moments ago he’d been wishing he had her for a sounding board. Now he was having second thoughts. “Give up what? Having standards? Raising my family to be responsible?”
She shook her head, a hint of amusement playing at the corners of her mouth. “In case you haven’t noticed, your children have grown. They’re adults, Clint. Probably hopelessly damaged by what we put them through, but they’re adults, and the playing field has changed.”
“I still own this ranch. I make the decisions.”
Charlotte flipped her hand, bored. “And you’re the big honcho senator and king of the universe. But you won’t take any of that to the grave with you, dear. It’s time we both tried to put things right.”
He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut.
“I may be dying of cancer,” she added, “but you could have a heart attack tomorrow and beat me to it. What would you leave behind—other than the obvious tangibles? Now that the boys are grown, I no longer feel bound by your demand for silence. One of usmusttell the boys why I left and why they stayed with you, because it’s only fair to them. I’ve included a letter with my will, but we should tell them together. In person.”
“I did therightthing. I did it for them,” he growled, shrugging off a niggling doubt. “You didn’t care about them—you were off gallivanting everywhere...and then there was Harris.” The name still felt like lye on his tongue.
“Harris? He was just a classmate when I was in graduate school, for heaven’s sake, and he’s my business partner now. He was never more than that. I love him—and his partner John—like brothers.” Her cool veneer faded, leaving just haunting sadness in her huge dark eyes. “I told you the truth, but you wouldn’t ever believe me. You chose to assume the worst.”
Clint closed his eyes. He’d been consumed with jealousy over Harris, and when he’d finally gotten up the courage to confront her, he hadn’t been able to accept her denial. The other man’s sophistication and education had too easily eclipsed Clint’s hardscrabble roots during those early years.
